Editing Marcus Junius Brutus (section)

=== ''Triumvir monetalis'' ===
[[File:Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus, denarius, 54 BC, RRC 433-2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Denarius minted by Brutus, 54&nbsp;BC, with the portraits of [[Lucius Junius Brutus]] (obverse) and [[Gaius Servilius Ahala]] (reverse).{{sfn|Crawford|1974|p=455}}{{Sfn|Tempest|2017|loc=Plate 5}}]]
[[File:Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus, denarius, 54 BC, RRC 433-1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Denarius of Brutus, 54&nbsp;BC, depicting the personification of [[Libertas]] and Lucius Junius Brutus with [[lictor]]s.{{sfn|Crawford|1974|p=455}}{{Sfn|Tempest|2017|loc=Plate 4}}]]

In 54&nbsp;BC, Brutus served as ''[[triumvir monetalis]]'', one of the three men appointed annually for producing coins, even though only another colleague is known: [[Quintus Pompeius Rufus (grandson of Sulla)|Quintus Pompeius Rufus]]. Moneyers in Brutus' day frequently issued coins commemorating their ancestors; Pompeius Rufus thus put the portraits of his two grandfathers (the dictator [[Sulla]] and [[Quintus Pompeius Rufus (consul 88 BC)|Pompeius Rufus]]) on his [[Denarius|denarii]].<ref>{{harvnb|Crawford|1974|pp=456, 734}}. Quintus Pompeius Rufus was a supporter of Pompey.</ref> Brutus, like his colleague, designed a denarius with the portraits of his paternal ancestor [[Lucius Junius Brutus]] and maternal ancestor [[Gaius Servilius Ahala]], both of whom were widely recognised in the late Republic as defenders of liberty (for, respectively, expelling the kings and killing [[Spurius Maelius]]).{{sfn|Tempest|2017|p=41}} He also made a second type featuring [[Libertas]], the goddess of liberty, and Lucius Brutus.{{sfn|Crawford|1974|p=455}} These coins show Brutus' admiration for the tyrannicides of the early republic, already mentioned by [[Cicero]] as early as 59&nbsp;BC. In addition, Brutus' denarii and their message against tyranny participated in the propaganda against [[Pompey]] and his ambitions to rule alone or become dictator.<ref>{{harvnb|Crawford|1974|pp=455, 456, 734}}, also mentioning other moneyers minting coins for and against Pompey in the 50s&nbsp;BC.</ref>